Former Lion Reggie Rogers dead at 49

By
Paula Pasche, The Oakland Press

Friday, October 25, 2013

Former Lions defensive lineman Reggie Rogers was found dead in Seattle on Thursday, according to a story in the Seattle Times. He was 49.

Rogers, a first-round pick of the Lions in 1987 (seventh overall), had his career come to a premature end when he killed three teenagers after running a red light while driving drunk on Wide Track Avenue in Pontiac on Oct. 20, 1988.

His blood alcohol level was .15 after the crash. The legal limit for driving at the time was .10, since lowered to 0.08. He spent a year in prison. Victims — the vehicle he struck was carrying Kenneth Willett, 19, of Waterford, and Dale Ess, 17, and Kelly Ess, 18, of Versailles, Mo.— of that crash are still remembered in local ceremonies for crime victims.

Rogers broke his neck in the accident. The Lions waived him in July 1989. He played just a half-dozen games as a rookie due to emotional problems and five in 1988 prior to the accident.

He had brief stints with the Buffalo Bills (1991) and Tampa Bay Bucs (1992).